Joseph P. Jablonski Interview, 22 February 2005

going into the security police because of Viet Nam, the majority of people wound up as cops.

TT:

Oh, they were setting up all the missile fields at the time.

JJ:

Well, it, that might have been a bit of luck because all your air bases and that were security policeprotection and all the perimeters and everythingso they were just loading up on security police at the time and how I wound up going to a SAC base (laughs) is beyond me, I don't know, maybe it was a bit of luck.

TT:

Where did you do your training?

JJ:

Lackland Security Police School, and I wound up at Minot.

TT:

What year did you go in? You did four years at Minot?

JJ:

No, it's ironic, shortly after this incident I got orders for Panama, the Canal Zone, which wasn't SAC. You know, it was a little bit different to say the least. They say once you were in SAC, you'd never get out and everybody used to always fill out "dream sheets" to get out of there. And you know, I filled them out every time. I even put in for Viet Nam and couldn't get out of there. But after this, all of a sudden...

TT:

This occurred in October '68. You mean a few monthsthey'd moved you?

JJ:

I got an early out actually. I was down in Panama until November of '70. I got an early out for school and four months earlier I got out.

TT:

And then came back to civilian life?

JJ:

Yeah.

TT:

From Lackland up until the point that you were at Minot, can you give us a little more detail about that? Did you get to choose Minot?

JJ:

No. The orders come down and that's where you went. There were three types of security police there. There was base security, which is your regular law enforcement; there was aircraft security; and missile security. I wound up in missile security, which was probably the best, other than law enforcement, which was the best duty of all of them.

TT:

Why is that?

JJ:

Because, aircraft security, all you do is hump those planes, you know, walk around those 52's on the flight line, guys shooting their (laughs) toes off and everything to get out of that duty

TT:

Oh really...

JJ:

I mean that was monotonous. You know what the weather is, the winds and everything, you were all bundled up in parkas, carrying a carbine, walking around these, I never had to do that. Whereas missile security you were three days out, three days in. But being on a SAC base, it was tough. I mean they were always running drills and ORI's and stuff like that.